Twisted
by Sparkle-PagerStealer
Summary: It's tornado season...Jo/Bill
1. The Papers

_Author's Note:_

_I love Twister. Anything associated with Michael Crichton is a win, in my opinion. This movie is classic 90's and so good for its time! It's still probably one of my favorites. I re-watched it recently and this is what I came up with. DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any way, own the movie 'Twister' or profit from writing this fic. I've borrowed some of the dialogue from the script. The sub-plots are mine. _

_Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 1: The Papers

Bill Harding's new pickup kicked up dust as he cruised down county road 40 just outside of Ponca City, Oklahoma, the sun bright on his face. It was early in the morning yet and the sky was an innocent blue as Bill leaned past his girlfriend Melissa to get a better view of the sky out the passenger side window. Cloud cover was moderate but non-threatening…cotton-like and lacking noticeable vertical development or clearly defined edges. Bill hardly had to think about it; a moment's observation had his weather sense at attention and the stats rolled through his mind with ease: these were cumulus clouds, lining the sky in clusters and moving along at a nice pace. Textbook example, and common for this time of year. Bill moved his gaze to the horizon. Far off to the west, where even a distant line of trees appeared as a dark, bluish-green smudge, a wall of clouds blocked the sun, throwing the ground below into shadow. It was late May and unseasonably warm. Bill knew that before the end of the day those unassuming, textbook cumulus formations would make the aggressive transition to cumulonimbus clouds: instable, heavy with moisture, and sensitive to the rapid changes in temperature characteristic to spring in Oklahoma.

It was tornado season.

A moment or two more and Bill found his attention brought back to the cab of his truck as Melissa spoke.

"But, honey, are you sure she's gonna be there?" she asked again, picking up the conversation where they'd left off when they stopped for fuel twenty minutes ago. Bill allowed himself to reminisce almost automatically, a distant knowledge drifting through his thoughts as he pondered the answer to her question. He glanced at Melissa and tried to smile, though the corners of his eyes were tight with the glare of the sun and an almost inherent disappointment brought on by the memories.

"If I know Jo, she's already dragged her entire department into the field."

Bill thought of his call to the university this morning, the one he'd halfheartedly hoped would be a direct line to getting ahold of Jo but had, as he'd suspected, been redirected to the department head. The guy, a name Bill vaguely remembered as a transfer from a big, fancy primary university in Kansas, had told Bill in a slightly incredulous tone that Jo and her team and been practically camped out near the Pawnee area for the better part of the last month. He could hear through the phone exactly what this guy thought about the research Jo was doing; the research Bill himself had once been so immersed in. He knew, almost without realizing how, that Jo hated having this guy -some fancy, elitist Atmospheric Science major with some non-nonsense, black and white theory on storm cells- as the head of her department. When he paused to think about just _why_ he knew this, Bill consented that it was because he _knew_ Jo. After all, he'd been married to her for the better part of five years.

"Ah, hell," Bill continued, "A day like today, it's to be expected…She forgets everything except her work."

Melissa rolled her head against the headrest to face him.

"You're nervous about seeing her, aren't you?" she asked in her unassuming, pretty southern drawl. That was one thing Bill liked about Melissa. She was to-the-point, but never assuming. Bill figured it must be the therapist in her, but when Melissa asked a question, that's all it was. A question. Not some thinly-veiled comment loaded with implications about what she really felt but wouldn't directly voice.

Not like Jo.

Bill mentally caged his drifting thoughts and looked to Melissa.

"Nervous? Nah," he assured, bringing his attention back to the road before shooting another quick glance in her direction, "Why? Do I look nervous?"

"No…" Melissa was quick to reply, "Well, yeah. You do, a little."

Bill let out a terse sigh and shook his head.

"I just want to get it over with."

Now it was Melissa's turn to feel apprehensive:

"But she said she signed the papers, right?"

"That's what she said." _Back in January..._Bill's thoughts lingered in his mind, as if he wasn't quite sure they could be counted on.

"You don't think so?" Melissa turned in her seat to gauge his reaction and Bill smiled, reaching over the console to grasp her hand.

"No, I think so," Bill shot her a reassuring smile, "Give me a kiss."

* * *

The van was blue, and just as junky as Bill remembered it. Back then, it was a pipe dream, the physical manifestation of everything they'd worked for in two seasons of rookie storm chasing. It wasn't much, but it had a roomy inside and space for a mount on its rack. That old piece of shit represented hard work and dedication. Most importantly…it wasn't corporate sellout.

Jo had long since replaced it with a slightly newer two door yellow pickup and -when Dusty had joined the team a few years back- an equally junky mini Winnebago, complete with removable camper. In time the team gained new members and eventually lost Bill, but the blue van had stuck around. Go figure.

Bill could see now that it had been converted into an impressively large space for mapping data. The storm tracking system was a jumbled mess of computers and wires, and the seats in the back had been ripped out to make room for coordinate layouts and readings from the Doppler radar. On top of the van itself, on the mount, was the dish that provided the readings, and behind that, bent over so that Bill could hardly see her, was Jo.

"Okay Professor, hang on there, I think I've fixed it," Tim Lewis -better known as Beltzer- pounded on the roof of the van to get Jo's attention, "I've got it," he called, prompting Jo to turn on the radar.

Sparks flew and a burst of smoke puffed angrily into the heavy Oklahoma air, and Jo pulled back.

"Oh, fuck!" her blond hair swung in a curtain across her shoulder as Jo straightened and cursed the equipment, "This thing is _useless_-"

"Oops! Sorry, Jo-" Beltzer called dryly. The damn radar dish malfunctioned on a daily basis, and Beltzer was all too used to the frustrations that accompanied it.

Melissa hung back, but Bill looked on in amusement as he stepped down from the cab of his truck. The dish whirred to life and Jo snapped her head up to watch incredulously as it begin to search for coordinates.

"Wait wait wait, Beltzer!" Jo hammered on the roof of the van with the flat of her palm in excitement, "That's good! Give me a reading!"

"Okay, Boss Lady, hold your horses…" Beltzer popped out of the van and strode over to the field equipment, "Which way do you want it, Jo?"

"Looks like the dry line is stalled. Give me a sector scan West-Northwest, look at midlevel for rotation and increase the PRF."

Bill's attention was drawn away from Jo and towards Dusty and the Winnebago. The first pumping tune of Eric Clapton's 'Motherless Child' flowed from the speakers of the 24" television in the back seat and Dusty sang along, mimicking the beat of the drums:

'_If I mistreat you girl, sho' don't mean no harm…'_

Bill crossed his arms and looked on as Rabbit and Allan argued over protocol for proper map storage.

"All I'm saying is don't fold the maps-"

"I didn't fold the maps!"

"Yeah well Kansas is a mess, there's a big crease right through Wichita…"

"_Alright."_

"_Roll _the maps."

Bill grinned at their back and forth and stepped forward to join the banter:

"Well, what do you know? It's the Storm Chasers!"

"Hey! I don't believe it!" Rabbit exclaimed, taking note of Bill's presence for the first time, "Who is that handsome devil!"

Rabbit and Allan laughed and stepped forward to clap Bill on the back and extend their hands in comradely greeting. Dusty, alerted to his presence across the site, crouched down like a linebacker and threw up the 'rock on' sign with both hands.

"The Extreme! It's _The_ _Extreme!_" Dusty laughed and bounded over, and Bill grinned.

"Oh man, don't start that shit!"

Bill turned to Melissa, who smiled politely but hesitated near the hood of the truck, and extended a hand to welcome her forward.

"Dusty, I'd like you to meet Melissa. Melissa, this is Dusty. Dust-Man's been chasing with us damn near ever since we started."

Dusty offered a little sort of half bow and grinned.

"Melissa," Dusty extended his own hand and took Melissa's, "Let me show you around! C'mon…" he shot a look over his shoulder at Bill as he led Melissa away, "Man, Jo is gonna _wig_ when she sees he's back!"

"I'm not back…" Bill called dryly. He smiled, offered Melissa a reassuring nod, and took off across the short expanse of field towards the blue van and his wife, setting his teeth in preparation for coming face to face with her again. The last time he'd spoken with her -hell, it'd been nearly two months ago now- had been over the phone. She'd called him, out of the blue, and if Bill hadn't taken the opportunity to inquire about the divorce papers she should have signed and turned over to the lawyer by that point, he would have heard in her voice that she was on edge. She had been reluctant to answer his inquiry about the papers and the phone call had degenerated into a petty argument before Bill had even thought to wonder why she'd called in the first place.

As in was, that particular incident was far from his mind as he strode across the short grass, nearing the van. He and Jo had decided on divorce nearly eight months ago. The papers had been drawn up in December and Bill had been waiting on her signature for nearly six months. He knew Jo was stubborn; she'd dug her heels in at first and he'd let that drag on awhile…but by the time February rolled around Bill had begun to see Melissa. He couldn't, in good conscience, let this weigh on them any longer. He needed those papers.

The sky to the west had darkened considerably on the drive out. Thunder rumbled in the distance; to the east the sun was a bright contrast against the grey wall of clouds that moved steadily closer, seeming to eat up the sky as it came. Bill brought a hand up to shield his eyes as he reached the van and called out.

"Hiya, Jo."

Bill stood with his hands on his hips and looked on as Jo tensed and her movements stilled behind the Doppler dish. He cast a hesitant glance over his shoulder, suddenly hyper-aware that eight pairs of eyes were gazing in their direction, waiting for the outcome of Bill's arrival. He didn't give a shit -God knows they'd born witness to plenty of his fights with Jo in the past- but did the whole damn team really have nothing better to do than watch him collect his divorce papers?

Bill glanced at the sky.

"Storm's coming in," he noted, "She's, uh, she's really talking."

Jo's features betrayed her shock. Inside, Bill was smug. It was clear she'd never entertained the possibility that he'd come all the way out here where she couldn't avoid him to collect the papers.

"Bill," Jo stalled, glancing at the skyline and out across the field at the rest of the team, "You're back."

"I'm not back," Bill assured.

She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and Bill felt the slightest twinge of guilt.

"Then, ah, what are you doing here?"

As soon as she spoke, however, Bill forgot all about being sympathetic.

"Christ, Jo! You know why I'm here!" Bill took another glance at their audience across the field and took a step nearer the van, lowering his voice. "Look, would you just come down from there? Come down so I can get the papers and get out of your way-"

"Bill, I-"

"Just come down, Jo!"

Bill ran a hand through his hair in frustration and looked back over his shoulder again as Jo rose from behind the exposed wiring of the Doppler dish and jumped lightly to the ground. Melissa looked on hesitantly from beside Dusty across the field and Bill shot her an encouraging smile before turning back to face Jo.

He thought maybe she'd gained weight.

"So, you want the papers?"

Bill stared.

"You did drive all the way out here for them," she reasoned. Her glance darted anywhere but to Bill's own speechless expression as the sky gave another thunderous rumble. The sound seemed to stir Bill from his reverie and he opened his mouth, his tone incredulous:

"You're _pregnant_?"


	2. The Past

Chapter 2: The Past

Jo bent to scoop up the coiled wire for the Doppler, brushing past him, and after a moment of numb astonishment Bill kicked his brain into gear and stumbled after her.

"This is the biggest serious of storms in twelve years, one lined up right after another. NSSL says they've never seen anything like it." Jo talked as she moved, and the distant crack of lightning resounded across the field as if to punctuate her statement. Bill caught up to her as she neared the Doppler's readout monitor and bent to set up the wiring.

"Jo!" The distinct tone Bill's voice carried when he was very close to shouting made Jo hesitate and she turned, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and raising one eyebrow in anticipation.

"Yes, Bill?"

"You're pregnant!"

Jo paused and gave a maddening shrug before answering, her tone casual:

"It would appear so, yes."

Bill threw his hands in the air and cast a wild glance across the campsite towards Melissa. It seemed Dusty was doing his best to distract her; his hands stirred the air as he recounted tales of their early storm chasing days. Bill watched as she shot a quick glance in their direction, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Most of the others were drifting back to their equipment, but Bill could feel their heavy gazes as he turned to Jo.

"I…How?" Bill demanded, afraid to hear her reply but desperate for answers, "When?"

Jo straightened. Her gaze swept over Bill and he scowled under the weight of her knowing stare. She seemed to size him up and Bill couldn't shake the notion that she was debating whether he could handle her answer, but finally, she spoke:

"January."

* * *

_January…_

_Bill extended a finger and gave the syrup carousel at the head of the table a mindless flick. It spun leisurely on its base, showcasing his options: Blueberry, blackberry, maple, boysenberry. _Whatever happened to plain old regular syrup? _Bill wondered absently. _

_Outside, the wind stirred the branches of a nearby tree. Bill sat up straighter as a pair of headlights washed over the window and a truck he recognized as Jo's turned off the highway into the crunchy gravel of the parking lot. She parked near the edge of the lot and Bill's gaze followed her movements as she stepped down from her truck. Her blonde hair swung across her shoulder and she absently pushed it back; it caught the wind and stirred before settling against the stiff denim of her jacket. Moments later the bell above the door chimed -accompanied by a rush of cold air- marking her entrance as she stepped inside the tiny diner and immediately scanned the nearest row of worn booths for Bill. _

_Jo's gaze landed on his. Bill couldn't put his finger on it…there was something_…_genuine…in her expression…he recognized it almost immediately. Bill pondered this, raising a hand in a sort of half-wave as she strode across the nearest row and slid into the booth opposite him. _

_Jo smiled. _

"_Hi, Bill."_

_He knew instantly that his intuition was right...something was up. _

_When Bill had filed for divorce back in September, he had packed his things and relocated across the Kansas border to Wichita. It wasn't far -a little over two hours- but far enough to put some distance between his soon to be ex-wife and what could only be called an obsession with her work. Jo had stayed solemnly behind, in Helena…stubbornly opposed to Bill's reasons for leaving, in deep denial. Nearly three months had passed without any sort of communication between the two. It wasn't until December -when the divorce had officially been drawn up- that Bill was even able to get her to answer the phone, much less convince her to meet him halfway in Blackwell to sign the papers. As it was, Jo had pushed things back twice…so that it was January before Bill was finally able to get her to agree on a time and a place. He had made the seventy mile drive from Wichita to Blackwell in a little over an hour, a sort of dreadful anticipation hanging over him as he imagined just how difficult Jo was going to make this. _

_And here she was, a smile on her face. _

_Bill settled back against his seat and surveyed her carefully. _

"_You're late."_

"_Yeah," Jo, unapologetic as ever, failed to offer an explanation for her tardiness and Bill knew better than to expect one. He studied the cool remains of his coffee as she signaled the waitress and asked for a coffee of her own, waiting patiently through the exchange. When he looked up, he found that Jo had shifted her attention back to him, her gaze steady and searching. Her eyes roamed his face and Bill found himself caught up trying to read her expression before she spoke, her voice soft: _

"_It's good to see you, Bill."_

_Bill hesitated. Hell, the truth was, it was good to see her, too. And the truth scared him. He hadn't expected that, and he definitely hadn't expected her to make this easy. He felt himself frown as he watched Jo smile, thank the waitress for her coffee, and slip a crumpled wad of bills into her hand. _

_Bill spoke the first coherent thought that entered his mind. _

"_You tip too much." _

_Jo had worked a string of waitress jobs throughout college, during the first early years that Bill had known her. After draining whatever living expense-stipend the school provided each semester on chasing tornadoes, she turned to waiting tables to feed her habit; sinking most of her earnings into non-essentials like filling up her gas tank for the next chase. Basic necessities like groceries or paying the electricity bill were treated as nuisances and frequently took a backseat. _

_She might have been good at it; Jo had a charming, down to earth feel about her, and she'd talk to anyone. But the first promising signs of a storm cell had always given her tunnel vision, and Jo had been let go from more than a few jobs for distractedly setting the breakfast platters aside and revving off towards the interstate in her pickup. Most folks found it hard to put up with the kind of crazed intensity that practically radiated off of Jo. _

_In any case, those days had instilled in Jo a sense of reverent appreciation for the hardworking, and though by no means was she without financial burden…she always over-tipped. _

_Irritation flashed briefly across her features as Jo reached for the sugar and spoke:_

"_It's my money." _

_Bill made a sound of disbelief. _

"_It certainly is." _

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_I was agreeing with you…"_

"_Really?" Jo demanded irritably, "Because that's not what it seemed like."_

"_It's your money," Bill insisted scornfully, "You make the decisions. Isn't that how it goes?"_

_Jo caught on quickly, her tone accusatory: _

"_You left _me, _remember? I came home one day and all your stuff was gone. You didn't even leave a note on the pillow-" _

_Bill clenched his jaw, frustrated. _

"_We were going to buy a house, and you took the down payment and spent it on a new Doppler radar!"_

"_Because we needed a new Doppler, ours was outmoded, even you said so-"_

"_But that money was for our house!"_

_Jo leaned forward, her features sharp. A moment passed; Bill had expected her to continue firing off accusations…Instead, she sighed. Her features softened and she resignedly leaned back. _

"_You're right."_

_Bill's eyebrows lifted into his hairline. _

"_Excuse me?"_

"_You're right," Jo cupped her coffee mug and looked away. "…It was important."_

"_It was our house, Jo."_

"_I said you're right…"_

_An awkward silence settled over them. Bill's disbelief made it impossible to speak, and he found his thoughts almost automatically drifting towards the familiar…the way Jo's eyes sparkled with intensity when she felt strongly about something, the clean, slightly sweet scent of her…the pronounced rise of her breasts beneath the neck of her white tee. Jo was pretty, when she gave a damn. But sexy…Jo wouldn't know sexy if it tore a mile-wide path of destruction through her front yard. And yet, something about the self-assured way she carried herself…the way everything she did had a purpose, the bright golden tones in her hair and the natural flush of her skin…it was the last thing on Jo's mind and the first thing on Bill's: _

_Sexy. Damn sexy. _

_Jo's elbows were propped up on the table, giving Bill an unintentional view down the front of her shirt, and he unconsciously leaned forward. This did not escape Jo's attention. Embarrassed, Bill cast his gaze into his coffee mug and reluctantly decided it was about time they got around to business. He cleared his throat: _

"_So-"_

"_Wait…" Jo cut him off, smiled, then slipped out of the booth and went over to the jukebox by the door. A minute later she was back, and a moment after that Steve Nicks' 'Twisted' crackled through the speakers and drifted across the diner. _

"_You were saying?" she prompted. Her voice was light, and Bill hesitated. _

"_The papers…" The music was a comfort to him and Bill looked away, finding it hard to face both Jo and his own resolve, "Do you have them?"_

_The look of confidence slid off of Jo's face and was replaced by a flicker of defeat, but it was gone almost as quick as it came. Bill wanted to console her, but the familiar returning sparkle in her eye held him off. _

"_Jo…" his voice carried a knowing, expectant warning; the intuitive suspicion Bill had felt when Jo had first entered the diner was back, and he knew in an instant that the last fifteen minutes of interaction had been a careful cover. _

_Jo noted Bill's tone and made the quick decision to come clean. _

"_I didn't bring them."_

"_Excuse me." Bill's voice was flat. It was more a statement than a question, and Jo cringed._

"_I didn't bring them," she said again, warily. _

"_I drove from Wichita."_

"_I know."_

_Bill ran a hand over his tired features, exasperated, and a momentary pause settled over the two of them while he gathered the steam from his forthcoming exclamation:_

"_What do you _mean _you didn't bring the papers!"_

_His outburst startled Jo, though it didn't surprise her. She blinked, and the corners of her mouth pulled upward into a knowing smirk as she allowed Bill's anger to wash over her, seemingly immune. _

"_Jo, damn it!" Bill allowed himself to become further worked up by her lack of response, "Tell me you're kidding-"_

"_I didn't bring them."_

"_Damn it, Jo!" _

"_This wasn't my decision, Bill. I didn't want this-"_

"_That's just it, it's not your decision!" Bill clenched his fists upon the table in an effort to keep his voice from rising to a yell, "You don't get to make all the decisions anymore!"_

_Jo decided it was time to make her case, and she leaned forward, her voiced filled with a firm conviction:_

"_You didn't even tell me you were leaving!" _

"_What's the difference? You never talked to me-"_

"_Well Mr. Communication, neither did you. You just hit the road."_

_Bill looked away, out the diner window. When he finally spoke, his tone was resigned._

"_I got tired of trying to talk to you..."_

_Jo sat back. The silence pressed over them; their proximity across the booth was simultaneously too close for their tempers and too distant for their sexual tension. She was surprised to discover that this raw attraction still existed -unresolved and seemingly untainted- beneath the heated energy of their aggravation, and wondered briefly if Bill was experiencing the same inner conflict. _

"_I could have them faxed."_

_Bill's frustrated exhaled seemed almost contrived, an encouraging sign, despite his next words:_

"_You can't _fax _an official document, you have to have the original, not a copy-"_

"_I'm sorry."_

_Bill let out a derisive snort. _

"_You're not _sorry_-"_

_Jo shrugged. _

"_Okay, I'm not."_

_Bill made another indignant sound and ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. _

"_Yeah, that's more like it..."_

_Jo made a move to rise from the booth and Bill followed her movements with a begrudging gaze._

"_Well," Jo sighed, "If that's it…"_

"_If _what's _it?" Bill demanded. His words hung between them expectantly as Jo paused, halfway out of the booth. _

"_If that's it…" Jo repeated exasperatedly, "I don't have the papers, I can't fax them to you, what else do you want?"_

"_I-I-" Bill's tone grew incredulous and he fired off the first accusation that came to mind, "Where do you think you're going?"_

"_I'm not going anywhere," Jo spoke matter-of-factly, rising the rest of the way out of the booth, "I'm staying." _

"_You're staying…?"_

_Jo shrugged. _

"_No sense driving back to Helena tonight," she explained, allowing her gaze to signal towards the roadside motel across the street, "…I'm staying."_

_Bill's mouth hung open, a mixture of fury and disbelief muddling his features as he stared indignantly after her. He watched as she reached the door and pressed into it so that the chime above tinkered noisily and then stilled as she paused, a hand on it's edge. Jo turned and cast an expectant look over her shoulder._

"…_You coming?"_


	3. Awkward Conversations

Chapter 3: Awkward Conversations

"_January-"_

Bill's incredulous tone carried a note of recognition as he recalled the events of nearly five months prior, and Jo raised her brow in amusement. His exclamation was carried away on a cooling breeze and he turned, casting a disbelieving glance across the field in Melissa's direction.

"Oh Christ, oh _shit-_"

Their night of remiss in Blackwell had come to an abrupt end the morning after, when a petty disagreement over the circumstances had quickly degenerated into a mindless screaming match. Bill had been so worked up that he'd peeled out of the motel parking lot and straight into the oncoming path of a truck and trailer hauling cattle…His blood pressure still crept dangerously high when he thought of what he'd paid in auto damages because of that day.

"Hey Jo, you got a second?" Laurence -the youngest member on the team- was also the newest, and clearly unaccustomed to how things worked when tempers got heated between Bill and Jo. He waved Jo over, his features apprehensive, and Beltzer -who'd clearly been listening in though he and Haynes both had their heads down- let out a barking laugh as Jo all too eagerly brushed past Bill with a quick, 'Oops, excuse me…' leaving Bill staring, dumbfounded, after her.

"Hi Bill-"

"Hey Bill!" Beltzer and Haynes both raised their hands in feeble greeting and smiled politely as Bill turned his gaze upon them, returning a distracted 'Hey' before brushing past and charging after Jo and Laurence.

"Hey this ah, this thing's acting up again," Laurence moved his hands as he stuttered apologetically, but Jo -ever on top of things- took one look at the camera and spoke confidently:

"The focus mount's jammed," she turned the camera over in her hands and squinted up at Laurence, "There's grass in the auto-focus. Did you check this? You have to check it…"

"Want me to clean it out?" Laurence reached out to take back the camera and Jo passed it to him after blowing out the lens mount.

"Not unless you want to sketch the tornadoes-" Jo smiled wittily and turned, heading back past Bill to the readout monitor as Laurence called after them:

"Hey, welcome back Bill!"

"I'm not back!"

* * *

"So, you want the papers?" Jo's hair stirred in the breeze before settling around her face as she bent to connect another cable to the Doppler's circuit board, and Bill scowled.

"Do I want the papers!" Bill echoed, his voice incredulous, "You're _pregnant_, but _now_ you want to know about the divorce papers!"

"You did drive all the way out here for them," Jo reasoned lightly, her words maddeningly rational given the circumstances. Bill sputtered, and Jo turned to glance up at him in amusement as Bill worked up steam.

"You could have told me!" he accused indignantly, his voice bursting disbelievingly across the field.

"I tried to tell you," Jo's words were matter of fact as she turned back to the monitor and adjusted the coordinates, "You wanted to talk about divorce."

Bill threw up his hands in frustration.

"I didn't know things had changed!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jo maintained the same reasonable tone as she connected the cables; she didn't even glance at Bill as she spoke, "I didn't know that this changed things…"

"It doesn't!" he burst, backtracking quickly with another frustrated look in Melissa's direction, "I…you…You're pregnant!"

"I called you…" Jo straightened and pressed a hand to her back, her voice matter of fact, "In March…Ringing any bells?

"You didn't say a _damn _thing about being pregnant!"

"Maybe because you didn't let me," Jo accused, growing irritated, "You wanted to argue-"

"Oh, _I _wanted to argue?" Bill echoed incredulously.

"And talk about the _divorce_-"

"Because I needed the papers signed, Jo-"

"Jesus! What's the urgent urgency? You act like you're getting married!"

"I am."

The words were out of Bill's mouth before he had time to think. Thunder rumbled resolutely into the silence as Jo paused, seemingly at a loss. Her gaze traveled out across the field before returning to Bill's own, her expression unreadable.

"Wow."

Bill offered up a stiff smile.

"Yeah."

Jo turned away and headed for her truck, and Bill fell into dutiful step behind her as they trudged though the high grass.

"Is it Melinda?"

"Melissa…"

"Huh. Wasn't there a Melinda in there somewhere?" Jo cast a querying look over her should as she walked, and Bill grimaced.

"No, there's only been Melissa since you…"

Jo made a sound of disbelief.

"Boy, not much for browsing, are you?"

"No, I guess I'm not," Bill admitted, stopping as they neared Jo's truck and she reached in through the window to pull the passenger side door open. Her hair lifted on the breeze and her gaze was downcast as she pulled a thick stack of papers from inside the glove box and passed them to Bill.

"Here you go."

Bill took the papers but made no move to go through them. Instead he let his gaze linger on Jo; the weight of his stare forcing her gaze to meet his own as Bill struggled to articulate the things he wanted to say.

"So how are…things?" Bill motioned awkwardly towards the rise of her belly, and Jo looked down at herself as though she'd only just noticed it was there.

"Right on track…" Her expression conveyed her disbelief as she spoke, as though she could barely fathom how she'd ended up like this, and she held her hands out to her sides, seemingly unsure of what to do with them. She was anything but maternal, but pregnancy suited Jo. Her body was shapelier now -Bill couldn't help but notice- and the extra weight was graceful rather than awkward.

"You've seen a doctor?"

"He says I'm at about eighteen weeks." Though the squall line to the west was moving steadily across the plains, the sun was still shining high in the sky and Jo squinted up at Bill, raising a hand to shield her eyes. "Everything looks good."

A particularly loud clap of thunder gave Jo and Bill both an excuse to look to the sky in mock interest, as an uncomfortable silence settled between them. Bill ran a hand along the back of his neck and risked another glance across the field towards the rest of the team.

"So, uh-" Bill turned back just in time to catch Jo's focus on the divorce papers in his right hand. She quickly pulled her attention back up to his face, and he stumbled over his words a bit before continuing: "You're chasing tornadoes?" Bill spread his hands wide, indicating the mass of equipment scattered throughout the field, "Your doctor…he knows about this?"

"What? You think I wouldn't tell him?"

"Truthfully?" Bill recognized the defensive tone in Jo's voice. Annoyed, he spoke freely, "No, I don't."

"Well, it's not really any of your business."

"So you didn't."

"I didn't say that-"

"You are out of control!" Bill accused, his voice rising in frustration. He knew how irrational Jo was when it came to tornadoes. They gave her tunnel vision, and the crazed intensity with which she went after them was the biggest contributor to the demise of their marriage.

"Well, I didn't ask you to come-" Jo threw back defensively.

"We weren't expecting on coming out here at all! You said you'd meet me in-"

"_We?_" Jo cut across, her voice betraying her shock. "She's here?"

"Yes she's here, she's over with Dusty-"

"You left her with _Dusty_?" Jo cringed and lifted her gaze, immediately scanning the row of vehicles for Dusty's mini bus and Melissa, "What's the matter with you?"

"What are you doing?" Bill's demanded warily.

Jo shot a quick glance over her shoulder as she turned and began to trek across the field.

"I wanna meet her!"

"No, you don't…" Bill remained stationary long enough to deduce that Jo had no intention of heeding his plea. "Christ!" He let out a weary curse and took off after her.

* * *

"The suck zone…" Dusty was lounging in his beach chair, obviously enjoying the affect his stories were having on timid-looking Melissa, "Is the point…basically at which the twister…_sucks_ you up!" he added hand motions for affect, "That's not the technical term for it obviously…but-"

"Hi!" Jo called out before she had even cleared the last five yards between them. She marched up with her hand outstretched, startling Melissa and she addressed her with forced enthusiasm, "I'm Jo Harding."

Melissa fumbled nervously with her bag, jumping up from her own chair to shake Jo's hand.

"Oh, hello! Nice to meet you…" she tapered off. "...You're pregnant." It was really more a statement than a question, and Melissa blushed at her candor. Her features, however, betrayed her shock as she looked first from Jo and then to Bill, fixing him with a disbelieving stare.

"Well then!" Jo clapped her hands together with a false smile and shot Bill a tense look as Melissa stumbled over herself in apology.

"Oh-I-I'm sorry-"

"It's fine," Never one for humility, Jo continued: "It happened before you came along anyways…" She turned to cast another pointed glance at Bill, a mischievous glint in her eye, and Bill waited for the kicker:

"At least I think..."

"Christ!" Bill let out in indignant curse, running a rough hand through his hair and turning to plead with Melissa, "It was! We hadn't met yet…" he turned and glowered accusingly at Jo, "Why do you always have to start _trouble_?_"_

Jo raised her brow innocently and turned back to Melissa with a gracious smile.

"Bill just told me the happy news..."

Melissa struggled to recover, casting an unsure look at Bill.

"Which?"

"Us!" Bill's words were pointed as he attempted to reign in the conversation, "Uh, marriage."

"That's happy news!" Jo conceded politely.

Melissa nodded nervously.

"I-I guess it probably seems kinda sudden."

Jo cringed with false concern.

"It seems sudden?"

"Dude? You taking the vows?" Dusty, seemingly unaffected, looked from Bill to Melissa, "That's sweet!"

"Well we…we…We just wanted to get it done before Billy started his new job-" The soft twang of an accent leaked out beneath her words and Melissa ran an anxious hand across her bangs.

"That's right, that's right!" Jo nodded, "Right, right, right, right…_Weather _man-"

"_What_?" Bill demanded, fixing her with a steely gaze.

"What?" Jo repeated. She looked unsurely from Melissa to Bill.

"No, say it-"

"I said weather man, I think it's great!"

"No, you had that tone-"

"There was no tone," Jo insisted, "If you have a problem being a weather man-"

Bill laughed mirthlessly.

"You're a _pregnant_ storm chaser! I _don't _have a problem being a weather man-"

Melissa's cell phone began to ring, providing a welcome relief as she dug it from her purse and answered.

"Dr. Melissa Reeves here…Uh-huh-"

Jo leaned forward and extended her hand once again.

"I just wanted to say hello…"

"Hello," Melissa nodded, smiling distractedly.

"Very nice to meet you."

"Uh-huh. You, too…" she returned doubtfully, her glance following Jo as she turned away.

Jo paused as she neared Bill and lowered her voice. Her hair stirred in the wind as she gestured towards her rounded abdomen.

"It's not like I planned this..." she insisted, her voice resentful. She brushed past him and Bill gazed after her for a moment before turning indignantly to stare open-mouthed at Dusty.

"...Can you _believe_ this?"

Dusty smiled sadly after Jo and chuckled at Bill.

"We're running out of grant money, man…" he pulled his goggles off his face in an attempt at sincerity, spreading his arms wide to indicate the skies, "This could be her last chance..."

Bill frowned knowingly. Thunder rumbled in the distance -closer now- and Bill allowed himself to breath in the energy of the building storm before turning again to gaze after Jo.


	4. Calm Before the Storm

Chapter Four: Calm Before the Storm

"New truck?"

Bill trailed after Jo, drawing even with her as she neared his truck and frowned. He could feel Melissa's gaze follow him, but her chatter on the phone was farther off now, and Bill hesitated in an effort to be tactful.

"That's right…"

"Boy oh boy…New job, new truck, new wife…it's like a whole new you." Jo's voice rose an octave as she rounded his truck and turned to survey him.

"Jo-"

"This is very awkward."

"I know. Tell me about it," Bill shook his head and rested his hand on his hips, turning to survey the horizon as the sound of thunder rolled closer and seemed to grow in intensity.

"I thought you'd be coming out here alone," Jo admitted, rounding to face him.

"I wasn't expecting on coming out here at all-"

"It's about Dorothy."

"Dorothy?" Bill frowned, his gaze searching Jo's own for answers as she paused, allowing the anticipation to grow. "What about her?"

"She's here."

Her face broke into a smile at Bill's look of awe.

"Show me," he demanded incredulously.

* * *

Bill vaguely registered that Melissa had ended her phone conversation, but found himself marching back past Dusty and his fiancé as Jo led him to her truck and reached up to loosen the canvas that was covering a bulky piece of cargo in the back.

Lifting her arms, she let the rope fall into the truck bed and pulled the cover away in one fluid motion, revealing -in all her scientific glory- the most beautiful piece of equipment that Bill could ever have imagined.

Dorothy.

"I can't believe you did it…"

Bill took an awed step forward, seemingly drawn towards Jo's truck as his gaze traveled over the instrument, taking it in.

"We built four of them."

Bill admired the features on the pack: multiple anemometers for measuring wind speed, a satellite honing device attached to the base- its overall construction was nearly identical to Bill's drawings.

"Does she work?"

Jo's enthused smile was truly beautiful as she lowered the tailgate and stepped back -an invitation for Bill to hop into the truck bed to get a closer look- which he did, eagerly.

"Thought you'd want to be here for her first time out," Jo squinted up at him, smiling easily now, "It wouldn't be right if you weren't here."

"This is gonna be good!" Joey and the rest of the team excitedly migrated over to Jo's truck, eager to see Bill's reaction to their surprise.

"How sweet is that?" Dusty laughed, bringing up the rear and leading Melissa by the hand. "Bill's concept, man," he explained delightedly, directly Melissa's attention to Bill, "The Extreme, man! That came from his brain!"

"I had a hand in it," Bill acknowledged humbly.

"Wow, it is great," Melissa provided politely. She cocked her head and frowned uncertainly, "What is it?"

"It's an instrument pack for studying tornadoes," Bill explained, "First one in history."

"It's very exciting," Jo elaborated, pulling herself up onto the truck bed with an ease that impressed Bill, "Scientists have been studying tornadoes forever…but still nobody knows how a tornado works. We have no idea what is going on inside because nobody's ever been able to take scientific measurements from inside the funnel," Jo looked admiringly towards Dorothy, "That's what she's gonna do…"

"How?" Melissa questioned unsurely.

Jo suppressed the urge to cast a disbelieving look in Bill's direction -_This woman had nothing in common with Bill- _and moved him aside to get closer to Dorothy as she explained.

"We put her up inside a tornado. She opens-" Jo depressed the release switch and Dorothy's sensor cap swung away, narrowly missing Bill's face, "-and releases hundreds of these sensors that measure all parts of the tornado simultaneously."

Bill reached into the tray to get a closer look as Jo passed one of the sensors to Melissa.

"You see Melissa, it's-it's like this-" Bill provided quickly, catching the look on Jo's face as Melissa glanced casually at the sensor and passed it back to her, "These sensors go up the funnel, and radio back information about the internal structure: wind velocities, flow asymmetries…We could learn more in thirty seconds than they have in the past thirty years…Get a profile of a tornado for the first time…"

"And what will that do?" Melissa inquired.

"If we knew how a tornado really worked, we could design an advanced warning system-"

"Aren't there already tornado warnings?"

"They're not good enough," Jo cut across, "They're nowhere _near _good enough."

Bill could sense the familiar frenzied intensity building behind Jo's words as she continued:

"Right now, it's three minutes. If we can get this new information we can increase warning time to _fifteen _minutes-"

"-Give people a chance to get to safety," Bill explained, eager to detour what he knew was quickly becoming a passionate rant, "At least that's what these guys are trying to do!"

Bill couldn't contain his enthusiasm; it caught on quickly and the rest of the team buoyed his declaration with appreciative claps and cheers. Jo grinned and moved towards the tailgate; Rabbit reached up and easily lifted her down among shouts of delight and excitement. It was a practiced motion- something an overly independent Jo would never have accepted from Bill- and Bill was surprised to experience an unexpected twinge of jealously. The smile slid unceremoniously from his face and he attempted to recover as he propelled himself off the truck bed over the rear wheel.

The group moved around him, buzzing excitedly, and Bill found himself pushed nearer to Jo despite his sudden urge to be alone with his thoughts. He gazed up at Dorothy as an excuse to look away from Jo and her excited smile and their baby.

"I can't believe you actually did it."

"Well," Jo cast an acknowledging glance over her shoulder at the rest of the team, and her eyes shone with pride, "We did it."

"Alright!" Rabbit clapped his hands as the team looked appreciatively at one another, grinning stupidly. Preacher snapped a photo, and Melissa stepped forward.

"How…How do you get it in the tornado?" she asked earnestly.

"Well, you gotta get in front of the tornado and put it in the damage path," Bill explained, "And then get out again before it picks you up too…"

"It's the suck zone," Dusty added, leaning close to Melissa's ear.

"Oh..." Melissa appeared apprehensive, though a sudden exclamation from Haynes drew their attention towards the hood of Jo's truck.

"Excellent!" Haynes grabbed the portable radio and jogged towards them, and the group parted to allow her access, "Jo we got major action! NSSL says the cap is breaking- tower's going up thirty miles up the dry line!"

Jo's gaze snapped to Bill and the rest of the team followed suit. Bill knew what she was asking, and he regarded her hesitantly. His unsure glance took her in: khaki chinos, the tan skin of her shoulders against her white tank, beneath which her baby bump rose tellingly. Her belly was small for being nearly four and a half months pregnant, and Bill knew in an instant that though her eyes asked him to come along- she was going after the storm regardless.

* * *

The silence stretched between them for a long moment as the rest of the team waited for Jo's instruction, and after what seemed like an eternity her disappointed gaze fell away and she decidedly gave the word:

"Alright, let's go!"

Jo secured the tailgate on her truck and the rest of the team sprang into action.

"Alright, we're moving!" Dusty exclaimed. The group took off in every direction and began quickly packing away gear with practiced skill.

"Joey, Haynes, a little help!" Beltzer swung himself up onto the roof of the blue van and began dismounting the Doppler as Jo unplugged the cables from its circuit board. Rabbit skipped rolling the maps altogether, scooping them up into a stack and bolting past Allan as he closed the hood on the Winnebago. Dusty folded his beach umbrella and grabbed his chair, tossing them unceremoniously into his minibus as Beltzer egged him on:

"Come on Dusty, you're always last to go!"

"Let's go, come on!"

"Come on!"

"Preacher, follow!" Haynes called, dumping equipment into the passenger seat of Beltzer's truck as Preacher slid behind the wheel of his own vehicle.

"Lawrence, don't forget the camera!" Jo called as she jogged past.

"I got it, I got it!" Lawrence assured excitedly.

"They can handle this, they know what they're doing," Bill assured Melissa, casting a wistful glance over his shoulder as the last of the equipment was packed away, "I mean, well…this is what they do, they live for this…"

"Dorothy 2 and 3, ready!" Beltzer called, securing the doors on the blue van.

"Dorothy 4, ready!" Haynes closed the hatch on the detachable camper and sprinted back across the clearing towards Beltzer's truck.

"Uh-huh," Melissa agreed, "But, she's pregnant…"

"I know," Bill ran a weary hand over his face and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Are you sure you don't want to go along?" Melissa squinted up at Bill, and he glanced at her as they walked.

"Nah…Go with them, you mean?"

"Well yeah…"

"Ah no, they'll be fine…" Bill scowled as Jo navigated her truck onto the dirt road beside them, blaring her horn and kicking up mud.

"Did she sign the papers?" Melissa queried, and Bill frowned, absently patting the pocket of his jacket in search of the document.

"I didn't check-"

"You didn't?"

"Well, no…"

Melissa raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun and slowed; Bill stopped and turned to face her expectantly.

"I think you want to go…" Melissa surmised, allowing the therapist in her to view the situation rationally, "I mean, ya'll are gonna have to talk about that baby," she nodded in the direction of Jo's retreating truck, "And what about that-that machine you designed?"

Bill followed Melissa's gaze as the rest of the team pulled out and filed into line behind Jo's truck before turning back to face her.

"You know I never meant for this to happen," he spoke earnestly, and Melissa nodded.

"I know..."

A moment passed as Bill struggled to make a decision.

"Okay, come on-" he said finally, grabbing Melissa's hand and pulling her in the direction of their truck, "If we hurry we can still catch them!"

Allan's truck swerved past them; the removable camper swayed as Rabbit leaned halfway out the passenger side window and grinned.

"Hey Bill, glad you're back!"

"I'm _not _back!"


	5. The First Chase

Chapter Five: The First Chase

"Rabbit?" Jo set her CB radio aside so that she could use both hands to navigate a particularly sharp corner. Holding the wheel steady, she reached back for the microphone as she came out of the turn.

"Yeah boss!"

"Can we do better than the 30?" Jo queried.

Inside Allan's truck, Rabbit reached behind the seat and grabbed the detailed road map and adjusted his headset.

"No…Not for awhile. It's ah, best to stay on it until we pass Roger's Creek…"

"Copy that."

The radio crackled as Jo accelerated up over a rise in the road, and Bill searched for the frequency on the CB in his own truck.

"Once we catch up with them you take the truck and head home," Bill cast a reassuring glance at Melissa, "I'll get everything settled and see you tonight, okay?"

"No…" Melissa insisted, "You know what Honey? I find this kind of interesting, I'm gonna tag along!"

Bill smiled, but his expression quickly turned to one of disgust as he caught sight of the reflection in his mirror.

"Jonas…Son of a bitch!"

The black truck drew even beside them before pulling ahead, and Melissa's gaze followed Bill's.

"Who is that, Honey?"

"Jonas Miller, he's a Night Crawler…We all started out in the same lab and Jonas went out and got himself some corporate sponsors. He's in it for the _money_, not the science! He's got a lot of high tech gadgets…but he's got no instincts." Bill turned smugly back to face the road, "And he doesn't have Dorothy…"

"Jo," Beltzer radioed over the network, "I think we got fleas!"

"Jo, come back-" Bill put a call out on his own radio, and Jo leaned over to glance at her side mirror.

"Hey there, you change your mind?"

"Yeah, what's Jonas doing here?"

Jo watched as one by one the single file line of all-black vehicles passed by her truck, lead by Jonas, and radioed back:

"I'm not sure…But I bet he's asking himself the same question about you!"

Bill glanced at his side mirror and did a double take as he realized that the last in the line of vehicles -a big black van- was bearing down on his driver's side.

"Oh shit, hold on!" Bill grabbed the wheel and swung right as the driver of the van laid on its horn and bore past them, running them off the road.

"Damn! Son of a bitch!" The truck bounced onto the grassy bank and up over a pile of culvert poles. They clanged against the undercarriage of the Dodge as Bill struggled to control the bucking wheel axle. He braked -narrowly missing a barbwire fence on his passenger side- and let out another curse as his truck bounced over the last of the metal poles and came to a jarring stop as one of his rear tires blew.

* * *

Bill pulled the spare from the back hatch of his truck. It bounced as it hit the ground and he guided it across the parking lot to the garage attendant.

"How long do you think that'll take to get fixed?"

"Oh maybe ten minutes, fifteen tops."

"Sounds good…" Bill glanced at his watch and headed back over to his truck. He brushed the dirt off his shirt and paused, looking up as he heard a familiar, pretentious Southern drawl.

"What if we could predict a tornado's path? How many lives would be spared with the creation of an early warning system! And D.O.T. 3 is the answer! The first Digital, Orthographic, Telemeter…"

Bill followed the sound of Jonas Miller's preaching, drawing even with the grill of his Dodge as he listened unsurely.

"And inside, she holds hundreds of these little sensors…Which when released in the tornado will transmit data back on wind speed, pressure, and due point temperature!"

Bill felt his blood pressure begin to rise as he marched forward, towards the crowd of people and cameras surrounding Jonas and his team. Jo and the rest of the team had a map spread out across the hood of Allan's truck, and Jo glanced up, casting a look over her shoulder as she sensed Bill drawing nearer. She called out a warning:

"Bill-"

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"Bill, don't!"

Almost unconsciously, Bill went rushing up to Jonas and cuffed the hat from his head, grabbing him by the collar.

"Hey!" Jonas let out a startled cry as Bill shoved him up against their device, "Hey, hey, hey!"

"You son of a bitch! What'd you think, I wasn't gonna find out about this?"

Jo's team came rushing across the parking lot and into the fray as Jonas' men grabbed at Bill from all sides.

"Hey guys, get this loser off me!"

Dusty and Rabbit pulled on Bill as he surged against shoves from the other team.

"Alright back off! Back off!"

"What's your malfunction man!"

"He's not worth it!" Allan called as Dusty gripped Bill's shoulders and pushed against him, trying to force him away from Jonas.

"What is the matter with you!" Jonas demanded, taking a cocky step nearer now that Bill had been drawn a few feet backwards.

"You stole my design, you son of a bitch!" Bill surged forward, slipping out of Dusty's grasp and aiming a wild swing at Jonas, grabbing him again by the collar and forcing him back.

"Come on! Come on!" Rabbit and Joey pulled Bill back as Jonas' team shouted insults.

"Calm down!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jonas demanded indignantly.

"Dorothy…You took her, you damn thief!"

A slow smile spread across Jonas' face.

"Oh, I get it…You wanna take credit for my design-"

"You're a liar! She was our idea and you know it!"

"Unrealized idea…Unrealized."

"That ain't worth shit!" Bill barreled forward and Jo broke into a run across the blacktop, quickly realizing that another round of pushing and shoving was about to commence.

"Hey-Hey! Guys, guys! Guys!" Jo drew even with the fray and pushed her way in front of Bill, "All my guys, get a grip on yourself!" Her words were directed at Bill now: "We both know, he'll never get that thing up in the air."

"That's right!" Beltzer called indignantly.

Jonas rounded his instrument pack and smiled.

"Well let me enlighten you people…This baby has satellite COM link-" he depressed the sensor cap and the arms of the telemeter folded back into place, "We've got onboard pulse Doppler, we got Next-RAD real-time…Today, we're gonna make history! So stick around…'cause the days of sniffing the dirt are over!"

"Better than what you sniff!" Allan threw back, and Bill stepped forward.

"We'll see who gets there first…pal!"

Jonas turned from his retreat with the rest of his team.

"Oh, and by the way," he called over his shoulder, "I really enjoy your weather reports," his glance darted to Jo's midsection and back to Bill, "…Daddy."

Jonas' team burst into loud jeers as a newfound rage overcame Bill. He clenched his jaw and rushed forward, breaking away from the rest of the group.

"You slime! I'm not through with you yet!"

The entirety of Jo's team rushed forward to subdue him, and Jonas continued his retreat.

"Come on, come here! Come on!"

"Get your hands off of me!" Bill shrugged his shoulders and pushed away members of their own team, "Okay!" He stalked away to cool down, letting out an aggravated yell and aiming a wild kick into thin air.

"He's a corporate kiss butt, man!" Lawrence called after him.

Jo jogged to catch up to Bill as he kept walking, drawing even with him and pulling up short, blocking his path.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you."

Bill ran a hand across the back of his neck and scowled, annoyed that she could allow Jonas' comment to roll so easily off her back.

"One day," he insisted, "I'll give you one day. Whether she flies or not- I'm gone."

"Honey? Honey…is everything okay?" Melissa was rushing towards them and Jo bowed her head, making a hasty retreat.

"It's okay…Everything's fine, everything's fine-"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Bill grasped Melissa's hands in his own, "Everything's okay."

"Okay."

"Listen, I'm gonna hang out here and get some air. Why don't you…Why don't you go get us some cold drinks?"

"Okay Sweetheart."

"Okay..."

* * *

Jonas ambushed Jo as soon as she stepped into the diner.

"You know Jo, I don't know what the matter is with Bill- I mean he-he's…he's wacko! He's crazy! I mean you otta keep a leash on him!"

Jo glared at Jonas, nodding in mock sympathy.

"He's not my problem. He's yours-"

Jonas moved to cut Jo off as she tried to brush past him and she pulled up short.

"Oh, by the way. This storms gonna be a lot bigger than we anticipated-" Jonas cast a glance out the window towards Bill, "I got reports of mesos from Grand County all the way to Logan-"

"You're _sharing_ information with me?"

"No, it's just ah…I'm curious as to which way you're gonna head."

Jo nodded eagerly, catching on.

"Southeast, I think. To the counter." She brushed Jonas off and cast a disbelieving glance in the direction of his team as she drew even with the counter and Melissa.

"Nothing changes…" she muttered.

"Pardon me?" Melissa straightened and turned in her direction, and Jo hesitated.

"He's gonna wait and see what Bill does," she provided, incling her head towards Jonas.

"That man is waiting for Billy, why?"

"My Aunt Meg used to call him a human barometer," Jo provided, by way of explanation.

"So you're telling me that Billy knows what a storm is _thinking_?" Melissa echoed disbelievingly.

"Something like that. Gum?"

Melissa shook her head and sat up straighter.

"Well he hasn't really told me about…all this."

And awkward silence settled between them, and Jo opened her mouth to fill the void:

"If you have to pee, you should do it now, 'cause there's not very many places to stop once we get on the road."

Melissa was silent. After a moment, she spoke:

"You're still in love with him, aren't you?"

Jo raised her brow and looked to Melissa disbelievingly.

"Not that I blame you…I just hope that this isn't some desperate attempt to keep him in your life."

Jo chewed her gum, contemplating the other woman's words before reaching over and plucking Melissa's tab off the counter.

"We're together," she told the waitress, placing both tickets and a wad of crumpled bills onto the counter. Grabbing her Styrofoam cup, she shot Melissa a friendly smile before turning from the counter and making an uncomfortable exit.

* * *

Bill stood at the edge of the parking lot and surveyed the clouds. The sky had darkened considerably; it's edges were tinged a nasty green color. Thunder reverberated off the hills, and before his eyes the light steadily transitioned from grey to orange to a heavy, ominous green, until soon the whole sky was tinted with the color. The crunch of gravel signaled Dusty's presence as he walked up behind Bill and stilled, his hands deep in his pockets.

"Hey man. What's up?"

"Goin green," Bill provided, picking up another handful of dirt and gravel and holding it open to the wind.

"Greenich," Dusty provided appreciatively, and Bill turned to head back towards the diner.

"Saddle 'em up…"

"You got it boss."

Dusty eagerly headed back to the others and Bill strode to his truck, grabbing his jacket from the front seat and shrugging it onto his shoulders.

Melissa was approaching, drinks in hand.

"Honey, I got you a lemonade-"

"We gotta move out-" Bill cut across fervently, "Listen, follow us in the truck but stay behind Dusty's van, you'll be safe back there. I gotta go with Jo!"

Bill spun on his heel and sprinted towards Jo's truck, rallying the others as they exited the diner in ones and twos and prepared to depart.

"Okay let's move out people! Let's go!"

"Where are we goin?" Melissa called unsurely.

Dusty hit the flashing lights on his bus and peeled past her, and Melissa fumbled for her keys, shoving the drinks onto the roof of the truck before pulling the door open and sliding into the drivers seat.

Jo gripped her key strap between her teeth as she pulled on her own jacket.

"Thanks, I'll drive!" Bill rushed past, plucking the keys away from her, and slid behing the wheel of her truck. Jo did a double take as she realized what had happened; she glared at Bill and hustled around the front the vehicle, pulling the passenger door open and sliding in beside him.

One by one they peeled out, and Dusty's roof-mounted speaker crackled to life and began blaring Van Halen across the darkened plains as they hit the highway, gathering speed.


End file.
